TMZ Hip Hop - Page 50

Kodak Black is still finding a way to give back to his community while he's in rehab ... helping folks in Florida make sure they have food on the table this Thanksgiving.

The rapper dropped $14,500 for more than 5,000 turkeys and had his team distribute them through a Thanksgiving tour of sorts across several South Florida communities ... according to Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen.

We're told Kodak's turkey giveaway made 7 stops in 3 days, with his team coming through in rental trucks to hand out the birds.

With Kodak's help, folks in the Sistrunk and Sunland neighborhoods will be able to have a nice Thanksgiving dinner ... as well as those in Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, North Miami, Little Haiti in Miami and of course, Golden Acres, where Kodak grew up.

Kanye West is up to something at his new Malibu pad -- and whatever that something is ... he wants the man living in one of the most unique homes in town to help.

James Goldstein -- who owns the famed Sheats-Goldstein Residence in the Beverly Crest hood of L.A. -- tells TMZ he recently had a face-to-face with Ye ... and not just that, but it sounds like they're gonna be working together on an architectural project.

That project, we're told, encompasses some complex plans KW has for his newly purchased mansion along the coast ... ones he believes Goldstein can advise him on, considering his experience in this field.

If you don't know ... JG's house is perhaps the most awe-inspiring in all of La La Land, due to its mind-bending construction and elaborate architecture -- most of which was undertaken by the late John Lautner, who teamed up with James years ago to bring his vision to life.

With that in mind, we're told James got a call from Kanye last week to see if they could link up and talk shop about home design -- and after sending his own architect out to inspect James' place, he tells us the man himself paid a visit on Friday to see it himself.

James says Ye toured the grounds thoroughly, taking pics and complimenting certain features he found wowing -- like the stairway and the pool -- and eventually came clean on what he wanted ... namely, for him (James) to come over to the 'Bu and help with his project.

James says Ye is interested in James' expertise and perspective, and indeed ... he accepted his request. Now, as for what exactly Kanye is cooking up, JG says he actually showed him some drawn-up rectangular-based plans -- but couldn't really make sense of it, so he's gonna swing by in person soon to talk in more detail and figure out what Ye's got in mind.

Kanye West got a little QT with his son, Saint, and also got in a round of catch with the old pigskin -- but it wasn't Ye tossing the ball ... it was Tom Freakin' Brady!

The rapper-producer brought his 5-year-old to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers game Monday at Raymond James Stadium, where they hung out one-on-one with none other than the G.O.A.T himself inside their luxury suite before kickoff.

Check out the video ... looks like Saint helped TB warm up by throwing a ball back and forth, while papa bear filmed. Not just that, but Tom chopped it up a bit with the kid, too.

Super cute moment, no doubt -- and you can tell the Bucs QB knows a thing or 2 about talking to kids. He does have 3 of his own, one of whom he references here.

According to Tom, Saint is just like his middle son, Ben, who's apparently pretty creative. Ye makes a suggestion that gets a chuckle out of TB ... who knows, they may schedule a follow-up play date after this!

All in all, a very cool daddy's day out with at least one of his brood -- and peep the music Ye put on this video. It's the Sunday Service version of "God's Plan" ... another sign he and Drake are totally cool now.

No sign of Ye's other kids here, who might have been back on the West Coast with Mom ... even though she was a little busy herself.

As you know ... Kim went out to dinner Sunday night with Pete Davidson, where they had their own little booth ... and where PD was flashing some bruised skin.

In a day that saw more than 30 new lawsuits filed against Travis Scott and the organizers of Astroworld, now event staffers are filing legal papers of their own ... including two security guards who say the event has left them permanently scarred.

Samuel and Jackson Bush say they were hired by AJ Melino and Associates to work security at the event. The docs claim that while only 50,000 people bought tickets, there were many more in attendance ... and the massive crowd caused bigger problems.

Both men claim mental and physical injuries from working the event. Jackson says he witnessed CPR being performed on lifeless bodies and pulled a person from a crowd crush who ended up dying.

The lawsuit is asking for more than $1 million in damages ... and going after not only Travis, but Live Nation, AJ Melino, Cactus Jack Records and others in the process.

As we reported, the new filings are just a fraction of what's already come in. Just last week, a $2 billion lawsuit was filed on behalf of more than 280 attendees ... prior to that, another lawsuit for $750 million was filed against Travis and others.

Cops continue to investigate exactly what went wrong, but from almost all fan accounts, overcrowding and crowd surges seem to be to blame.

Travis remained out of the public eye since the festival, and 10 people have died after suffering injuries at the concert ... he's offered to pay funeral expenses and set up an account where families can get in touch with his team to work things out.

Travis' attorney, Ed McPherson tells us, "It was reported that the Operations Plan designated that only the festival director and executive producers have authority to stop the show, neither of which is part of Travis's crew. This also runs afoul of HPD's own previous actions when it shut down the power and sound at this very festival when the performance ran over 5 minutes back in 2019."

He continues, "Investigations should start proceeding over finger-pointing so that together, we can identify exactly what transpired and how we can prevent anything like this from happening again."

DaBaby was allegedly assaulted by his baby mama DaniLeigh, and now her brother wants to beat the crap out of him ... legally, of course.

We got Brandon Bills at The Grove in Los Angeles and talked to him about challenging his sister's ex to a celebrity boxing match.

Brandon, who's also a rapper himself, says he would win handily ... guaranteeing the fight would end with DaBaby out cold on the canvas.

As we reported ... DaBaby and DaniLeigh got into a blowout argument this week in North Carolina, and cops later charged her with 2 counts of simple assault after police made 2 visits to DaBaby's home.

DaBaby also posted a video where he seemed to accuse her of using their baby for clout, vowing to take care of the child himself despite all the drama playing out in the public eye.

The peace treaty between Kanye West and Drake is about to get an official summit -- and it'll be happening on stage in about three weeks ... no kidding!

Ye confirmed Saturday, taking to Instagram to post a digital flyer promoting the benefit concert he's been pushing for -- one that's meant to raise awareness for imprisoned ex-gangster Larry Hoover, whose freedom he's been lobbying for behind the scenes.

The show is going down on Dec. 9 -- two days after KW had initially wanted, it seems -- and it's taking place in Los Angeles ... at USC's Coliseum, no less. It's only Ye and Drake who are listed as performers -- and there aren't any other details attached just yet.

In an even greater gesture of reconciliation, Kanye captioned his post ... "God's Plan," a clear nod to Drake's song of the same name. He also threw in a white dove to hit the point home that ... they're all good now.

Drizzy hasn't promoted the event himself, but we'll assume he's onboard ... especially since he hosted Ye and J Prince at his Toronto home last week, where this burying of the hatchet seems to have taken place.

This would appear to be one of the first times Ye and Drake have performed alongside one another in a very long time -- they've shared the spotlight a couple different times in the past ... but haven't been in each other's presence like this ever since they first start feuding in 2018. Needless to say, it's a big deal -- with 2 of the hottest artists in the game right now.

Like we said, there aren't any other acts that are part of the lineup at this point -- but frankly, Ye and Drake are more than enough to get asses in the seats. Also interesting to note ... it looks like Ye gave himself top billing here, and has Champagne Papi as a special guest.

Tyga celebrated his 32nd birthday in grand fashion Friday night ... with 500 guests packed into a winter-themed bash.

The soiree went down at Nightingale Plaza in L.A. ... a city where it never snows. So, cue the snow machine! There were women dancing inside gigantic plastic snowballs, photo booths where you could mug with Siberian Huskies, and on and on.

Lots of celebs on hand to celebrate ... Delilah Hamlin, Pia Mia, Mario, Dre London, James Goldstein and Amanda Steele. Since there were 500 folks jammed into the venue, there are probably others we didn't or couldn't eyeball.

There was plenty of candy, snow cones and hot cocoa with marshmallows ... and enormous ice sculptures with embedded Tequila.

Check out Tyga's duds ... a crazy winter coat and ski goggles. It's L.A. dude! Watch him snowboard down the snow-covered hill.

This is one of the first big winter-themed parties we've seen in L.A. with more to follow as the holiday season is about to kick into high gear ... despite COVID cases on the rise in CA and places beyond.

The Travis Scott legal saga surrounding Astroworld has just reached a new orbit ... an attorney representing more than 200 alleged victims just filed a $2 billion lawsuit against the rapper and others.

In what has become an apparent rat race among Houston attorneys to scoop up clients in the festival fallout, attorney Thomas Henry just upped the ante. We should note, this is Henry's 5th amended complaint he's filed, but now, he's asking for $2 billion in damages.

The lawsuit, filed against Travis, Drake, Live Nation, NRG Stadium and others alleges fans were "incited into a frenzy" when Travis started to perform and started a surge toward the main stage, trampling and crushing some in attendance.

Henry's latest filing represents 280 plaintiffs and blames organizers for not taking Astroworld safety concerns from 2019 into account when planning 2021's version.

Clearly, Henry's been paying attention to the media coverage from the festival, pointing out the fact fans even climbed platforms during the chaos, begging concert organizers to stop.

The lawsuit is asking for $2 billion, saying, "The Defendants stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off this event, yet they chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put the festival attendees at risk."

It's been six years since Kanye West dropped his famous "Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman" lyrics -- but the rapper says it STILL has Michael Jordan furious with him.

Ye made the revelation on Revolt TV's "Drink Champs" this month ... saying MJ had big beef with him after he released "Facts" in 2015 -- and is still holding a grudge over it all.

"Jordan still won't meet with me," Kanye said. "I'm trying to meet with Michael Jordan. I'm like, 'Man! It's a song, man!'"

Ye's '15 hit is filled with Swoosh disses -- West raps over and over again in the song, "Yeezy, Yeezy, Yeezy just jumped over Jumpman." -- and, of course, Jordan took exception to it.

West, though, tried to apologize to His Airness in 2016 ... writing in a tweet that it wasn't meant at all as a shot at MJ -- but rather a top Nike exec Mark Parker, who Kanye had issues with stemming from their previous collabs.

"I'm sorry Michael Jordan," Ye wrote in the tweet. "I love and respect you. My beef was with Mark Parker. I respect you so much."

Kanye, though, says the apology still hasn't been accepted all these years later.

"Michael Jordan said this thing like, 'Why y'all acting like Virgil made me hot? These shoes is hot!'" West said. "This is from somebody that met with Michael Jordan that used to work with me."

West, who clearly wants to repair things with the NBA legend, still continued to take shots at Nike nonetheless ... saying, "Nike really ain't had s*** since the Yeezys."

'Gorilla Glue Girl' is sticking it to us with more chatter about her hair fiasco -- only now, she's doing it with a beat, and she's recorded it ... notably without an assist from Nicki Minaj.

Tessica Brown is releasing her very own track, remixing snippets from her original viral TikTok video, with additional lyrics she raps. It's called "Ma Hair," and we're told it's due out Friday.

TB's manager, Gina Rodriguez, says Tessica recorded it in Hollywood last month, and the track was put together by independent music producer/engineer Phil Valley. Apparently, Tessica wrote this jam all by herself ... and it's the first time she's ever rapped.

As for *why* she's bringing us all back to February -- when this whole sad incident first went down -- well, we're told Tessica simply wanted to reclaim her voice for her own purposes and thought this would be a neat way to do it.

As you may know (and may have heard) ... there's been a lot of remixes made over the past several months that feature audio from Tess' OG clip -- but she didn't authorize any of those.

Here's the kicker to this whole thing ... Tessica and her team actually reached out to Nicki Minaj's camp in hopes of getting her on the track. Of course, NM shouted out 'Gorilla Glue Girl' in her recent song, "Fractions."

After the name-drop, which GGG and co. loved, they figured Nicki might be down to collab ... but Rodriguez says they never heard back from her.

Drake isn't ready to roll out any new music ... whether it's on his own or with others, so he's decided to pull his song from French Montana's upcoming album in the wake of what happened at Astroworld.

French is set to release his highly-anticipated "They Got Amnesia" on Friday, and fans were hyped about a song on the project called "Splash Brothers" featuring Drake. However, the single was pulled without warning from Apple Music and other streaming services where the album will drop.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Drake asked for the song to come down before release because he's still reeling from what happened at Astroworld ... and didn't think it was appropriate to put out new music right now.

We're told French had no problem with the song being taken off the album -- Drake's his brother, and he totally understood his reasoning. Our sources say the single will still be released on the deluxe version of "They Got Amnesia" down the road.

A quick snippet of "Splash Brothers" apparently leaked online where Drake rapped, "I f*** a rapper's wife. She ain't even my type but I make the sacrifice."

Kanye West and Drake have officially buried the hatchet ... because they're hanging out together in Drake's hometown.

Ye just posted a pic on social media showing him standing next to Drizzy ... with Rap-A-Lot Records honcho J Prince, making it a group photo.

There were rumors Tuesday that Drake and Kanye squashed their beef Monday night in Toronto ... and Yeezy is eliminating all doubt with his post.

Not long after Kanye posted, Drake shared a video of him and Ye together ... tagging their location in Toronto. It appears they were buddy-buddy while listening to Dave Chappelle rock the mic.

In the video, Drake's got his arm around Kanye ... and it sounds like the peace talk went down at Drake's crib, based on Dave's comments.

As we reported ... there's been a full-court press from Ye and Prince to end the beef with Champagne Papi, with Kanye recently inviting Drake to perform with him at an upcoming benefit concert for famous Chicago gangster Larry Hoover.

It's unclear if Drake is going to take Kanye and Prince up on the offer ... the concert is scheduled for December in Los Angeles ... but the fact they're spending time together is huge.

Travis Scott, Drake, Apple, Live Nation and others will now need to answer to a massive $750 million lawsuit brought against them by more than 125 fans, including the family of one who died at the festival.

The suit, filed by Houston attorney Tony Buzbee, is the first of others to come and places the blame on Travis and concert organizers for negligence in failing to properly plan the concert, train security personnel and host a safe event.

Among the plaintiffs is the family of Axel Acosta, a 21-year-old who was allegedly crushed by an "incited, unruly and out-of-control crowd with such force that he could no longer breathe."

As for the staggering $750 million, the lawsuit claims it's to cover both physical and mental health injuries as well as the loss of life.

Buzbee says, "No amount of money will ever make these Plaintiffs whole; no amount of money can restore human life. But, the damages sought in this case attempts to fix, help, or make up for the harms and losses suffered by these Plaintiffs -- nothing more and nothing less."

Travis and Live Nation offered refunds almost immediately to concertgoers, and the lawsuit addresses that offer, calling it, "... a transparent and grotesque effort of the Defendants to limit their liability, after the fact, to the families of those killed or injured."

As we reported ... 10 people have now lost their lives as a result of the Astroworld Festival -- the most recent was a 9-year-old boy.

Law enforcement continues to investigate what caused the deaths, but those in the audience say a crowd crush trapped, trampled and suffocated fans.

It's now clearer why DaBaby was recording DaniLeigh while they argued -- cops who responded to his home say she assaulted him ... on Sunday, and then again on Monday morning.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD says DaniLeigh was charged with 2 counts of simple assault after officers made 2 visits to the rapper's home. The first came on Sunday night ... after DaBaby had gone live on IG, showing DaniLeigh as she was feeding their 3-month-old child. Cops say DaBaby accused the singer of striking him, but police left without making an arrest.

That changed though when they went back to the house on Monday around 9:30 AM, responding to DaBaby's second claim of domestic abuse. This time, cops say their investigation found enough evidence to cite her for 2 misdemeanor assaults -- one for Monday and Sunday's alleged incidents.

During the Sunday night incident, DaBaby said, "I gotta record you for my safety. You ain't fitting to bring this Black man down."

It would appear the alleged assault had already happened, and DaBaby was recording DaniLeigh out of fear she might claim he had hit her.

On Monday, he posted a video seemingly accusing her of using their baby for Internet clout. He never mentioned anything about her allegedly hitting him. He did, however, vow to take care of their child ... despite all the drama between DaniLeigh and himself.

Travis Scott's latest Nike collab won't be hitting the shelves anytime soon -- the Swoosh has decided to postpone the "Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack" release due to the Astroworld festival tragedy.

The Baroque Brown kicks were slated to go live on December 16 at 7 AM ... but just minutes ago, Nike announced it will not go through with the drop.

"Out of respect for everyone impacted by the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival, we are postponing the launch of the Air Max 1 x Cactus Jack," Nike said Monday.

The decision comes as 9-year-old Ezra Blount became the 10th concertgoer to lose their life as a result of the chaos at Astroworld.

As we previously reported, the Houston Rockets also scrapped a promotional event featuring Scott last week -- replacing "Travis Scott Night" with a moment of silence for the victims.

On top of that, Fortnite elected to remove the Travis Scott emote from its game.

The 9-year-old boy who was trampled at Astroworld Fest and left fighting for his life has sadly died from his injuries -- making him the 10th death from the festival.

Ezra Blount passed away Sunday at Texas Children's Hospital, after being on life support since Friday, November 5, when he was among the hundreds who were injured during Travis Scott's headlining show.

The family's attorney, Ben Crump, tells TMZ, "The Blount family tonight is grieving the incomprehensible loss of their precious young son. This should not have been the outcome of taking their son to a concert, what should have been a joyful celebration. Ezra's death is absolutely heartbreaking. We are committed to seeking answers and justice for the Blount family. But tonight we stand in solidarity with the family, in grief, and in prayer."

The kid was in attendance with his father, who's reported to have lifted his son up onto his shoulders once the crowd surge became unbearable. Unfortunately, Ezra's father passed out during the ordeal ... leaving young Ezra to fall to the ground during the chaos ... and be subjected to being crushed on by the panicked crowd around them.

He sustained serious bodily harm -- ones that left him with severe swelling of the brain and internal bleeding ... and since then, his family has been hoping he'd be able to recover.

Ezra's grandfather gave a heartbreaking interview to ABC13 in Houston ... recounting his son and grandson's harrowing experience at the festival. He didn't seem to lay much blame at Travis' feet, per se -- but rather, said police and security should've stepped in.

Like we said ... Ezra had been hospitalized since the horrific event, and was eventually placed in a medically induced coma -- with the hope that he would be able to heal enough to gain consciousness again ... but that never happened.

As we reported ... civil rights attorney Ben Crump was hired by the family and already filed a lawsuit alleging negligence on the parts of multiple parties -- including Travis himself, Live Nation and others involved in organizing the festival.

Crump said, "This young child and his family will face life-altering trauma from this day forward, a reality that nobody expects when they buy concert tickets."